Airplane



June 26, 1923.-- a 1,459,942

J. M. ARROWOOD AIRPLANE Filed: April 9 1920 4 sme' qsneet 1 Jim: 26, 1923. 1,459,942 J. M. ARROWOOD- AIRPLANE Filed-April 9. 1920 4 smu -sheet 5 jeha filflkrowood,

lime 26, 1923.

J. M. ARROWOCD AIRPLANE Filed April 9, 1920 4 Shoots-Sheet 4 Patented June 26, 1923.

J'EHU M. ARROWOOD, OF

VALPARAISO, INDIANA.

AIRPLANE.

7 Application filed April 9,

T 0 all whom it-mag concern Be it known thatl, JEHU M. Annowoon, a citizen of the United States, residing at Valparaiso, Porter County, in the State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Airplanes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to heavier than air flying machines, and particularly to the type known as gyro-planes. I

Great difficulty and considerable danger is experienced by airmen in alighting on the earth, particularly'when circumstances compel themto come down in a rough and undeveloped country, and as now constructed large fields are necessary for most air-planes to start and endtheir flights.

- The objects of my invention are to so construct an airplane that it can start and end its flights in a perpendicular direction, and yet possess all of the necessary elements for attaining great speed or a comparatively slow speed or a stationary position in the air accordingly as desired, without danger of falling. This I accomplish by the means hereinafter fully described and as particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of my invention, showing the hull in longitudinal section.

Figure 2 is a plan view of one of the planes used in connection therewith drawn to alarger scale.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the same taken on dotted line 3, 3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical section of a broken away portion of the lower portion of the rotary mast.

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on dotted line 5, 5, Figure 4.

Figures 6 and 7 are side views looking at the same from different angles and showing modified means thereon for tilting the vanes of the rotary planes mounted'on said shafts.

Figure 8 is a detail view showing a fragmentary view of the top vof the masts and conjunctive devices.

Referring to the drawings A represents the hull of the air-plane to which my improvements are adapted to be applied. This hull need not differ in any material respect from the hulls of monoplanes of the well known type in its general aspects, with the exception that it may be necessary to make it longer in order, to accommodate and sup- 1920.- Serial in. 372,422.

port the new features constituting my invention.

It, preferably, has a propeller B at its front end mounted upon the projecting end of the crankshaft of the engine (not shown), which is located in the front end of said hull and may consist of any one of the numerous high-powered air-plane engines now in use. At suitable points near the forward and rear ends of the cock-pit of the hull, two corresponding vertical masts or shafts 5, 5, are placed which, have secured to their upper ends two circular planes that are adapted to revolve in opposite directions, preferably, at the same speed. The upper ends of said masts engage with caps or sockets 6, 6, that are connected by a brace 7, preferably, consisting of wire cable, and have stays 8 and 9 extending from them that lead to and are connected to bow and stern sprits, 10, and 11, respectively. Midway between said masts the brace 7 has a sleeve or coupling 12 secured thereto, and stays 13, are secured to and connect the coupling to the outrigged ends of a cross-bar 14 bridging the sides of the hull. This system of braces and stays assist in giving rigidity to the masts. The masts have at their lower ends reduced portions which are seated in bearings 22, and the upper ends of the masts enter sockets 6 which are integral with the parts 6.

Each of these planes consist of a central boss 6 or sleeve that is securely fitted and secured to the masts in any suitable manner; and a disk or central portion a, of a wheellike frame that is secured to the upper portion of the mast 5, at points sufficiently beyond the upper ends to provide for clearance of the stays and braces, and the portion a has corresponding equi-distant radiating webs or spokes b, b, projecting therefrom, whose outer ends terminate and merge into a circular rim 0. This wheel-shaped frame, is preferably, made of sheet metal and the edges of the spokes and the inner edges of the segments of the rim thereof,

between the outer ends of said spokes, are rolled back upon the web thereof to strengthen and reinforce the structure. The outer edge or perimeter of this rim, 0, is constructed of angle-iron, and the outer marginal portion of this wheel-frame is riveted or otherwise suitably permanently secured to the horizontal flange of said rim.

This rim is surrounded by a concentric outer rim 16, and a series of corresponding equi-distant vanes C, the inner and outer seginehtal edges of which are struck from the center of the plane, and the sides of which connecting these segmental edges are substantially in alinement with the spokes of the inner wheel-frame of the plane. The edges of these sheet metal yanes C, are, preferably, reinforced by flat metal strips, (Z, and by circular angle-iron frames 0, the diameters of which correspond to the distance between the rims, and bya series of wires 17, that are arranged so that they extend transaxially across said circular frame and beyond the circumference of the same to metal strips cl to which their ends are secured in any suitable manner.. These yanes are pivoted on shafts 15, the .inner ends of whichare journaled in the boss 0 and which extend outwardsin a radial direction from said boss midway between the spokes b, of the inner wheeLshaped frame, and are journaled in bearings 18 secured to the inner rim, and in bearings 19 in the outer rim, and support the same.

In the spaces between the spokes b, b," of said inner wheel-shaped frame vanes 20 are secured to'said shafts in the same hori- Zontally disposed planes as said outer vanes C, and these vanes 20 are also strengthened by means of circular reinforcements 22 that are constructed in substantially the same manner asouter vanes C, that is to say, by means of structures consisting of a circular frame, made of angle-iron or other suitable commercial rolled metal. form, and a series of equidistant transaxially arranged wires that extend across said frame and have their outer ends secured therein in any suitable manner.

The tenons of the lower ends of the masts 5,5, are journaled in suitable bearings 22, 22, secured. midway between the sides to thepbottom' of the hull, and they are also journaled in bearings (not shown)- situated higher up, that are supported by suitable cross-frames. The masts are rotated in 01% posite directions by a longitudinally disposed horizontal shaft 25, through the medium of mitre-ge-ars 26 and 27. Shaft is journaled midway between the sides of and near the bottom of the hull in suitable bearings, and itis driven by a suitable engine 28 preferably of the internal combusuQn typ The vanes of the planes are designed to be tilted so that when the planes are rotated they will cut or screw into the air in the same way, that the propeller does, and when revolving'with the masts fast enough will lift the airplane, or when revolving slower ease the descent of the same. This tilting of the vanes or blades I accomplish bymeans of taut ropes. or cables 30, 31, for the larger outer series of vanes, which are connected to the sides of said vanes,midway between their bearings. One set of these ropes 30, extend down toward and are secured at their lower ends to a collar 32 that is splined to said mast So as to revolve therewith, but slide up and down thereon. The other set of ropes, extend down from the sides of said large varies from points opposite Where ropes are attached thereto, and have their lower ends attached to a collar 33 similarly mounted upon and splined to the mast. When one of these collars is lowered and the other raised it will tiltthe vanes in one direction, and when the movements of said collars are reversed the vanes will tilt in the opposite direction.

The moving of these collars simultaneously in opposite directions is accomplished by means of rope, 35, one end of which passes down from the lower collar 32, through a guide-opening in an arm 36, which is secured to and revolves with the mast.

withdrawn from one of a circumferential series of holes in the mast, and releases it therefrom. This handle and the bolt car- Immediately below this arm is a .sleeve 37 that is supported by a ring 38 ried thereby embodies a very old mechancontinues to revolve the arms 36 windseveral more bights of rope around the sleeve until the rope has pulled one side of the vane down until the desiredincline is obtained. As the opposite side' of'the vane moves upwards, the portion of the rope connected thereto will cause the drum {10 "to, un-

wind the same and at the same time will wind uprope from the sleeve.

The drum 40 is journaled in bearings mounted on a bracket 4l"projecting'horizontally from the lower end of'the'ring 38, and its shaft extends beyond its bearings atone end'and has a'gea'r 42 mounted thereon. 'lhis'gei1r42 is "engaged by a crowngean 4E3, which latter is concentric with the mast, but is kept from revolving thereon, preferably, by a pair of diametrically opposite projecting pins or pegs slidable up and down by a lever 47, this crown-gear is raised so that it can engage gear 42- by means of the lever 47, which, at one end is bifurcated and straddles the boss 48 of the crown-gear, and has slots 49 in its bifurcations out through which pins or pegs project. The other end of said lever terminates in a handle and this handle has a pivoted arm 51 alongside of it, that is moved when the handle is grasped, and said arm withdraws a bolt 53 from one of a segmentally arranged series of notches of a rack 54 and permits the lever to be moved so as to cause the crown-gear to engage gear 42.

The construction illustrated provides means whereby'when the lever 47 is lowered it will raise the crown gear 43, but prior to such movement, the sleeve 37 must be first unlocked from the mast, and it is likewise held from rotation with the mast, operating so that the cord 35 will be wound upon the drum.

When the crown-gearengages said car 42, the drum 40 is rotated so that it winds the rope thereon, and pulls down on the stretch of the same fastened to the high side of the vane, and moves the latter back toward a horizontal plane.

It is apparent that the mechanism for manipulating the ropes that control the movements of the collars 32 and 33, to tilt or incline the vanes, can be dispensed with and the ropes be controlled by hand. Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings illustrate a modified form of means for shifting or turning the blades or vanes to vary the angularity or inclination thereof, and comprises a double internal crown gear 43 which is slidable on the shaft by a lever 47, the toothed members being connected by spaced bars, and the teeth of the gears may be placed in mesh with a pinion 42 carried by a shaft having a pinion 42' carried by a frame 44 having a sheave 4.0 which is journalled between the frame 44" and a mast encircling member. In operation the modification shown by Figs. 6 and 7 normally occupies a position whereby the pinion 42 is out of mesh with the gears and is rotated along with the shaft, and when the double gear is raised or lowered by the lever 47 the sheave will be rotated and the cable moved to change the position of the vanes or blades.

The outer rim of the rotary plane is connected by means of stay wires 55, to the mast at a point below the collars 32 and 33, and in order to give rigidity to the said plane, I connect the inner. rim 0 of the plane to the flange of the cap 6, by wires 56. These wires, are preferably, connected with said rim 0 at points where the same is intersected by spokes b. I also prefer to-secure to the said rim 0, at the points of intersection of the spokes, king-posts, 57, and to run wires 58 from the mast over the upper ends of the king-posts, and from 'modified'and changed and in some instances even dispensed with, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a flying machine, a hull, a propeller I therefor, a rotatable'mast journaled in and arising from the hull, a circular plane mounted on said mast, an outer series of equi-distant vanes, and an inner series of equi-distant vanes the axes of which extend radially from said mast, devices for simultaneously tilting said vanes, and means for rotating said propeller.

2. In a flying machine, a hull, a propeller therefor, a rotatable mast journaled in and arising from said hull, a circular plane hav ing a boss securely mounted on said mast and having inner and outer concentric rims, vanes pivotally mounted between said rims on axes radiating from said masts, devices for simultaneously tilting said vanes, and means for rotating said propeller and mast.

3. In a flying machine, a hull, a propeller therefor, a rotatable mast journaled in and arising from said hull, a circular plane having a boss securely mounted on said mast and having inner and outer concentric rims, a sheet metal web connecting said boss and inner rim, and shafts which are journaled in bearings whose axes extend radially to said mast, devices for simultaneously tilting said vanes, and means for rotating said propeller and mast.

4:. A flying machine comprising a hull and. propeller and rotatable mast and plane mounted thereon, said plane having a series of tiltable vanes reinforced by a circular frame of commercial rolled metal form,

and means for rotating said propeller and mast.

5. A flying machine comprising a hull, propeller, a rotatable mast, and plane mounted thereon, said plane consisting of a metal web reinforced by a circular frame and a series of transaxially disposed wires, Whose outer ends are secured to said frame, and means for rotating said propeller and mast.

6. A flying machine comprising a hull, a propeller, a rotatable mast and plane securely mounted thereon, said vane consisting of a web of metal reinforced by a circular metal frame 0t commercial rolled metal form, secured to the same, and a series of wires extending transaxially. whose. out-er ends are secured to the margins of said vane, and

means for rotating said propeller and mast.

7 A flying machine comprisinga hull, a propeller, a rotatable mast, a plane secured thereonhaving inner and outer concentric rims, a series of vanes pivotally mounted in said plane, a series of stay wires connecting one of said rims to a point below it on said mast, and means for rotating saidmast and propeller.

8. A flying machine comprisln-g a hull, a

. 'ro )eller a rotatable mast, a lane securel 1 mounted thereon, vanes pivotally "Jl'lOIlllttKl in said plane whoseaxes extend radially to said mast, ropes depending from said vanes midway between their bearings, sleeves simultaneously movable up and down inopposite directions on said mast to which the lower ends of said ropesare connected,

means for rotating said mast and propeller and devices for mov ng said sleeves.

9. A flylngmachine comprising a hull, a

propeller, two rotatable masts, planes securely mounted thereon, vanes pivotally mounted on said planes whose axes extend radially to said n'last, ropes depending from said vanes, midway between their rbearingsyz sleeves simultaneously movable up and down in opposite directions and said masts to which the lower ends of said ropes are connected, separate engines for rotating said masts and propeller and devices for moving said sleeves.

10. In a lying machine, a circular member comprising concentric inner and outer rims, andtiltable vanes between the center of saidmember and the inner rim and be tween said rims, and'means for simultaneously tilting said inner and outer vanes,

said inner and outer vanes being arranged 

